EPHRATH; EPHRATHAH

ef'-rath, e'-frath, ef'-ra-tha, ef-ra'-tha ('ephrath; Ephratha; Genesis 35:16; 48:7); ('ephrathah, in the other references: Joshua 15:59 (in added verse of Septuagint only); Ruth 4:11; 1 Chronicles 2:19,24,50; Psalms 132:6; Micah 5:2, the King James Version "Ephratah"): The name either of Bethlehem itself or of a district in which Bethlehem was situated. A man of this place was called an Ephrathite (Ruth 1:2; 1 Samuel 17:12). It is held by many authorities that the Ephrath where Rachel was buried (Genesis 35:16; 48:7) was a different place, the words "the same is Bethlehem" being a gloss. The reading in Psalms 132:6 is doubtful; the Revised Version, margin has "Ephraim."

E. W. G. Masterman

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.